Brandy's SARPE Journal

Message

#16 Post by **katemm06** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 8:32 am

Brandy,

Your swelling went down so much. Your looking better and better

It was also probaly a wise move you made to take the powerchain off. I admire you for doing it yourself!!!

Slawdawg-Good luck with the upcoming surgery. You may not need to grow a beard to cover bruising. I was fortunate to have none.

#17 Post by **Brandyleigh35** » Thu Mar 09, 2006 7:08 pm

Hey Kate,
Really taking the powerchain off was no big deal. I have one of those little tooth cleaner hooks. Just hooked it and pulled off one side the other was a piece of cake.

Slawdawg, I agree, you may not get bruises like mine. I bruise very easily so I think I look much worse than say others who are not as prone to bruising.

I posted some updated pics today of my stiches so you can get a time line for healing etc. I think they look awesome for only 5 days. I plan to post some expansion pics soon also. I can already see a difference after only 10 turns.

Brandy

#18 Post by **joplin** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 8:24 am

Wow, it's hard to tell there were any incisions there! I think mine looked brutal compared to yours! Nice work from your OS, gotta hand it out to him

And to you for being in such good spirits about the whole procedure! It's great that you're sharing it all with others who will follow. When I started out there was next to zero information to be found about SARPE on the internet - I think this little group of ours has made a huge difference about that! Big hand to the whole Metal Mouth Message Board SARPE team!

#19 Post by **Brandyleigh35** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 12:56 pm

I agree Joplin,
That is why I decided to do the blog, as I couldn't really find much of anything. Not that really covered it from beginning to end. I wanted to read or know what it was like from the second someone went into surgery til it was mostly over.

I'm going to see my OS this afternoon so I will let you know what he says. I do agree though, I think he did a fabulous job. Truthfully I don't think this surgery could've been any easier than what I had. He did a really stellar job!

Brandy

#20 Post by **Shoegal** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 1:51 pm

Brandy,
I am so glad you are doing well after your surgery! I told you it wasn't so bad. The swelling sucks and it feels like it will never go away. I am sorry about the powerchain causing you issues. To me having one seems counter productive but...I am not the ortho. I believe that you only have to worry about the "pop" if you just have the expander...the surgery goes all the way though the bone so there are no fibers to "pop".

I hope you continue to do well. Take it easy...moving around a lot will only cause more swelling and no one wants that!

Melissa

#21 Post by **Brandyleigh35** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 5:42 pm

Thanks Melissa,
Hey question for you SARPE veterans. I forgot to ask this at the OS office today. My teeth and gums are pretty numb. Any idea when they will start to get some feeling back in them? I can feel some mild tingling in spots which tells me the nerves are healing a bit, but just wondered when I might expect to get more sensation back. Does it usually take a couple of months? weeks? Just curious.

Brandy

#22 Post by **Shoegal** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 7:10 pm

It is really different for everyone. I think I took a while to get feeling back but I can't pinpoint a time frame. Just be careful how hard you brush...I got a lot of a burning/tingling sensation when it was coming back. You'd probably like it to stay numb a little longer, until things heal more. The whole thing will be a distant memory before you know it! Isn't it amazing how you heal AND the lack of pain is incredible?!

Melissa

#23 Post by **rsprouse** » Fri Mar 10, 2006 9:37 pm

Brandyleigh35 wrote:Thanks Melissa,
Hey question for you SARPE veterans. I forgot to ask this at the OS office today. My teeth and gums are pretty numb. Any idea when they will start to get some feeling back in them? I can feel some mild tingling in spots which tells me the nerves are healing a bit, but just wondered when I might expect to get more sensation back. Does it usually take a couple of months? weeks? Just curious.

Brandy

Hey Brandy,

Looking good, just give it a few weeks and you should be feeling better. You are expanding at a rate of .5 mm/day for a reason. Any faster and the blood supply cannot keep up with the expansion and thus the bone as well. Any slower and you risk having the fracture heal and not being able to continue expansion. Once you are expanded the blood supply will be completed followed by the bone and nerve endings. It varies from person to person, but it should be within a couple weeks of completing expansion. Glad to see you looking so good!!

Best,
Rory

Wed Mar 29, 2006 10:08 pm

Brandy, I just read your blog, and I'm sorry you had so much trouble with your C-Flex machine. That is the exact same machine I use. I do wish they would have given me a smaller one but oh well. (Try carrying the stupid thing on an airplane!)

Anyway, if you ever decide to use it again PM me and I can give you some advice on masks. I went through several before I found one that would work and not give me 'face farts' as I call the leaks. I know that you are feeling like it is just too much stuff on your face. I feel that way too and I don't have an RPE. Unlike my husband who took to the machine in one night, it took me about a month to really get used to the C-Flex. Like you, if they told me surgery would help me not need it, I would go for it!

Good luck...and congrats on your new gaps!

#25 Post by **dizzym92** » Tue May 23, 2006 8:21 pm

It has been very inspiring reading through your experiences with SARPE. I am just about to start on the process and am sitting here filled with a mixture of anticipation and fear. Right now I've just got expanders in and am waiting for my expander to be produced. Its being fitted next Tuesday for a week before I go into surgery. I can honestly say that your site has made it less scary, despite the obvious pain and frustration that you experienced. Thank you!

#26 Post by **Brandyleigh35** » Tue May 23, 2006 11:57 pm

Hey Dizzym92,
Glad the blog has helped you. Yes the actual SARPE was no where near as bad as I thought it would be. Like most people I have my moments when I'm like "what the heck did I get myself into" most of the time though I love seeing the progress I'm making and the little bit of aggravation I'm going through is worth it.

Good luck with your surgery!

Brandy